: Re: Strategies for shortening texts When reviewing a text to shorten it beneath a fixed, externally imposed word limit, which strategies are available for shortening the text? What kind of shortening

@Alves689

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For a novel, memoir, or literary essay

Compress your description. Take the most pertinent details, the most stand-out images, and use only those. Remove all other description.
Consider whether each sentence, each detail, is critical to plot or character development. Make sure each scene or paragraph is advancing your purpose, whether it is a fast-paced plot, a compelling character, proving a thesis, or world-building. If not, cut it entirely.

For poetry:

Compress your description. Poetry is the most compressed form of writing. You want each syllable serving a purpose
If removing words to fit a form with syllable count, consider entirely restructuring your lines to get your idea across in a more specific way.

For technical writing and scientific publishing:

For each section and chapter, ask yourself "does the reader need to know this?" If yes, think about the bare minimum that must be done to prove your point or educate the reader. Trim anything else.

This answer has been marked community wiki to encourage others to add to the list.

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